Quietly, Behind the Scenes
Posted By Joel on November 15, 2010
We uncork. We pour. We enjoy. We praise the earth, the sun, the tradition, the wine producer, each for their good work. Less often, though, do we raise our glasses in appreciation of the many supportive tasks performed by winery staff and required to produce a good bottle of wine.
I thought it might be fun and perhaps instructive to take a moment to celebrate some of the behind-the-scenes work that goes on during the wine producing year:
For example, there is the cellar work we call racking, an ancient term for the process of separating the clear wine from the sediment or lees, with its assortment of drain hoses and holding tanks. This labor intensive program assists with clarification and also benefits red wines with aeration. Cheers to the racking team !
To the good hands that attend those ubiquitous barrels used in the production of wine, we must raise our voices in thankful song. The barrels demand a busy regimen of cleaning and maintenance activities lest mold and bacteria grow to fill our glasses with inferior grape juice.
Pruning, that is removing away unwanted vine canes during winter months, requires a studied eye and steady hand. Pruning regulates the next year’s yield by controlling the amount of buds allowed and is important to the vine grower establishing a “training” system for the vines, shaping them into the desired growing form. Accolades and acclamations a plenty!
And did you ever see those handsome, neatly weeded spaces in between vineyard rows? Yep, someone needs to attend to that. Applause !
Loud cheering and recognition to all who participate in the repair and maintenance services for mechanical equipment involved in wine production: tractors, bottling machines, pumps, tanks, roto-fermentors, crushers, and more, for fear that production comes to a standstill.
A round of thundering virtual applause, then, for the work that goes on behind the scenes of wine, and for the people who do it, without which our wine would be less than what it is, or perhaps not at all. Bravoooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!
* THANKS to Paolo Ghislandi, Cascina Carpini, for permission to use the photo.
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